Theory Paper and PowerPoint Presentation 

Draft 4-5 pg. paper (10%) is due on Sun., September 16, 2018 at 11:59am through Turnitin. Final 8-10 pg. paper (15%) is due on Sun., October 7, 2018 at 11:59am through Turnitin.

This assignment will help you learn more about the biographies and important contributions of one of the social theorists that we do not cover in this class. It will also develop your research skills on the Internet and assist you in giving an online PowerPoint presentation. Here is the main gist of the paper requirement.

This assignment can be broken down into a series of steps:

1. You will select a theorist in      Charles Lemert’s book that we are not covering for the term.
2. Start to learn as much as you can      about your theorist in terms of personal biography. You should share where the theorist      comes from, some key facts about the theorist’s family of origin, family      of procreation, his/her educational background, his/her work background,      etc.. And if there are any other interesting facts about that theorist,      please share them here. The biography should be about 2-3 pages long.
3. Then you should discuss the      important contributions of the theorist in terms of his/her key      theoretical contributions or ideas generated and influential works written      (i.e., books, articles, essays, etc.). This should also be 3-4 pages long.      This will involve conducting Internet searches from reputable social      theory sites. One famous site for      theorists who are more sociological is – Sociosite: Famous Sociologists – http://www.sociosite.net/topics/sociologists.php. A second site which is more      philosophical but also includes relevance to social science disciplines is      The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy – https://plato.stanford.edu/. Another site      is Wikipedia. I am not opposed to      you looking at a Wikipedia page when first starting out – especially since      one of its founders – Jimmy Wales is from Alabama. J However, please remember it should lead you to other sources. Other universities or non-profit history      organizations may have good web pages on social theorists. Just read a variety of sources and try      to ensure that they are scholarly and not just a random page put up on an      individual’s blog. You should also check the Troy University databases to      see if there are any journal articles written either by your theorist or      some other scholar analyzing their work. IN TOTAL- you will need at LEAST      eight references for your draft and final paper.
4. Lastly, you should analyze the      work that was featured in the Lemert book. For this, you will treat it like one of your Reflection Assignments      where you will provide a summary in your own words of what you think are the      author’s main point/s or argument/s. Then you can present the strengths      and weaknesses are of the theorist’s argument/s ((e.g., Does the author      present sufficient evidence to back up his/her argument? Can you think of counter-evidence that      the author ignores? Is the logic      consistent? Does the author have a      particular bias?). This section should be 3-4 pages long.
5. You will need your eight or more      references for your draft paper as well as your final paper. If you need      help with citing in APA format – this is an excellent primer: http://www.mtroyal.ca/library/files/citation/apa.pdf
6. You will first submit a draft of      this paper on Sunday, September 16th before midnight on Turnitin on      Canvas. You should have 4-5 pages      of a narrative to make it a legitimate attempt. You will turn in the final paper on      Sunday, October 7th before midnight.

Grading Criteria   for Theory Paper

Pts. Recvd

Comments on each   section

Content:   Three sections: 1) The student shared where the theorist comes from, some key   facts about the theorist’s family of origin, family of procreation, his/her   educational background, his/her work background, etc.. The student also   shared any other interesting facts about that theorist. The biography was   about 2-3 pages long or about 20-30% of the length of the entire paper. (20   points) 

2)   Student discussed the important contributions of the theorist in terms of   his/her key theoretical contributions or ideas generated and influential   works written (i.e., books, articles, essays, etc.). This section was about   3-4 pages long or about 35-40% of the entire paper. (20 points) 

3)   Student provided a response modelled on a Reflection Assignment describing   the author’s main point/s or argument/s. The student presented strengths and   weaknesses are of the theorist’s argument/s (e.g., Does the theorist present   sufficient evidence to back up his/her argument? Can the student think of counter-evidence   that the theorist ignores? Is the   logic consistent? Does the author have   a particular bias?). This section should be 3-4 pages long or 35-40% of the   entire paper (20 pts.)

Organization: Does the writing   flow? Is there a clear sense of   organization to the entire paper (i.e., thesis, intro, middle, and   conclusion)?Is there organization within paragraphs? (10 pts.)

Language: Is the writing   grammatically correct? Are there any   typos? Could the writing benefit from   proofreading? Does the student write in a scholarly tone and avoid casual   language? (20 pts.)

Format: Are there 1 inch   margins on every side? Is the paper double-spaced? Is the draft paper to be   turned in on Week 4 – 4-5 pages long? Is the final paper to be turned in on Week 7- 8-10 pages long? Did the   student follow APA format? Is there a   separate reference page and cover page? Are there page numbers? Are the in-text   citations in proper APA format? (10 pts.)

Final Grade: 

Video/PowerPoint Presentation – Due by Midnight on October 10th

For this Power Point Video Presentation on your Theory Paper, you will create an eye-catching, interesting PowerPoint video slide presentation in which you will discuss the main sections of your paper. You will be using Zoom which will create a webcam video of you presenting your PowerPoint. The whole presentation should be between 15-20 minutes long. You will then upload your Video/PowerPoint Presentation to YouTube. You should treat this presentation as if it was a conference presentation. Please dress in business casual attire and attempt to relate your information in a scholarly but engaging fashion. Please note: Do not use my lectures as a guide for professional presentation as my lectures are incredibly informal in their presentation. Also – do not include music in your own PowerPoint because it most likely will be in violation of copyright laws. You will ultimately post this video to YouTube and then post the link to the Class Discussion Board. 

In terms of how to structure the PowerPoint presentation, you should have at least 10 slides (one starter slide (with your name and the name of the presentation) and at least 9-15 additional slides that take the viewer through the three main sections of your paper (i.e., three-five slides per section). In terms of how the slides should look, please make them as visually captivating as possible with little wording on each slide and engaging pictures. You should be explaining more in your presentation with the video of yourself – so just have a few key words on your slides. TWO CAVEATS HERE: Please do not have wordy slides in which you are reading your slide to the viewer. That is BORING. Also – DO NOT USE CLIP ART. Clip art in my view looks unprofessional. So please use interesting pictures from the Internet like Google Images, etc.. 

Regarding how to sign up for Zoom – here is a YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3VS-49Vg6M&index=3&list=PLKpRxBfeD1kEM_I1lId3N_Xl77fKDzSXe) video explaining the process. It is free! Next, I want you to look at these instructions for creating and recording a PowerPoint presentation in Zoom (Zoom Tutorial 2: Recording a PowerPoint & Video with the Zoom Video Conferencing Tool

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmMSXOQVQs4)

Please remember – when you do this presentation, I want the whole class to see you. When creating your PowerPoint, you will need to be mindful of where you will place the dialog box that will have your video screen highlighted. Also – pay attention to where the video is saved on your computer. After you have created your PowerPoint Video in Zoom, I want you to upload your video to YouTube. If you do not have a YouTube account, you will need to create one. Here is how you do that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b38ef8n1p4U&t=67s. Then, you will post that video to the final Discussion Board. When you create a thread, you will be ideally adding your YouTube Video Presentation. 

Some students may express concern that they may not be able to get Zoom or YouTube to fully work for them. If you do not have a webcam, please email me by the beginning of Week 6 to see how else you can do this assignment. If you do not email me and do not make another plan as to how you will do your presentation, you will be deducted 15 points for not being able to fully execute Zoom and YouTube.

Grading   Criteria for Video/PowerPoint Presentation

Pts.   Possible

Pts.   Received

Comments   on each section

Was   the student able to execute Zoom and load it to YouTube? Was the audio and   video clear?

15

Did   the PowerPoint Presentation contain a starter slide introducing the presenter and the theorist?

10

Did the   PowerPoint Presentation provide at least 9-15 additional slides for each of   the three components of the paper.

1. Biography component

2. Key ideas and works

3. Reflection Assignment Portion

45

Was   the PowerPoint visually interesting (i.e., engaging pictures and not too many   words per slide)? 

20

Did   the student fall within the time guidelines?

10

Final Grade: